Human Resources

In this essay, we provide an overview of the topic of human resources.  This includes an overview of what human resources is, human resource responsibilities, human resources management, human resources training, and common human resources issues.  In addition to thoroughly examining the topic of human resources, the essay provides a great example of an academic essay.  It does so by providing all of the elements of a traditional academic essay, including: introduction, hook, thesis statement, a body with evidence and analysis of that evidence, a conclusion, and a reference section.  The essay also includes properly cited sources in an academic format.  You can use the essay as a template for an academic essay, as well as a primer on human resources.  Related Topics Employment Laws- There are a variety of different laws that impact employment in the United States.  From laws about hiring and recruitment regulations to laws governing hours, wages, and working conditions, knowledge of the laws is essential for human resource professionals as well as for employees.  This essay would explore some of the various laws that impact employment in the United States and whether those laws are applicable only under special circumstances or in all employment scenarios.   The Outsourcing of Human Resources- What does it mean to have a career in human resources and are human resource professionals likely to have job stability.  With outsourcing in a lot of human resource areas, are human resource professionals an area that is likely to remain in-house or will the trend of outsourcing human resources continue.  Do outsourced human resource departments help or hurt businesses and employees?  This essay would explore the idea of outsourcing as it relates to human resources, whether that threatens human resource professionals, and whether it hurts or helps businesses.   Training for Human Resources- Human resources professionals have to put on multiple different hats.  What type of specialized training goes into preparing someone for a career in human resources?  Should other employees have similar types of training to help reduce the likelihood of issues in the workplace? This essay will look at whether broad-based training would reduce the need for human resource professionals in the average workplace.   Titles An Overview of Human Resources The Viability of Human Resources as a Career How Human Resource Professionals Impact the Workplace The Interaction Between Human Resources and the Law Outline I.

Introduction II. Body A. What is human resources?  B. Human resources responsibilities C. Human resources management D. Human resources training E. Human resources issues III.

Conclusion  Introduction For most of the history of employment, employee satisfaction was not considered an important component of the job.  Instead, there were very few rules or laws governing how employees could be treated in the workplace.  Employees who were capable of providing high-quality, sought-after work, in competitive marketplaces were in a position to demand better treatment, but employees who could be easily replaced were often seen as disposable.  Employee efforts to seek better treatment through things like unionization, were not only opposed, but sometimes violently opposed by workers.  These problems began to be highlighted during industrialization, when employer abuses of employees in factories and sweatshops were rampant.  However, these atrocities led to an awareness that employers often mistreated their employees in ways that were simply intolerable.  These early workplace abuses led to the creation of laws governing employment.  Initially, these laws were very basic and offered only the most limited protections to workers.  For example, early labor laws governed the minimum age for employment, the maximum hours employees could work, and even began to establish minimum wages.  Employment law has evolved, so that employees have greater expectations and rights than they did in the past.  This evolving area of the law can be complex for employers, especially if the employer is a larger organization where managers or owners cannot have personal contact with all employees.   The role of the human resources department is to act as a liaison between the employer and the employee.  Human resources ensures that a company is complying with all applicable state, local, and federal employment laws.  Human resources also ensures that employees are complying with company policies and helps formulate disciplinary plans for employees who are not complying with policies.  In addition, human resources if responsible for administering employee benefit packages.  The goal of the human resources department is to attract and retain high-quality employees for their organization, while also ensuring that the department complies with all applicable rules and laws.   Essay Hook Because human resource professionals are responsible for handling all of the employees in an organization, they are uniquely suited to helping shape the culture and climate of that organization.       Thesis Statement:  Without well-trained and dedicated human resource professionals, it would be impossible for a company to develop its desired culture or to retain its best employees.   Body What is Human Resources?  Human resources is an interesting term because it actually has two different, but related meanings.  Human resources refers to the people employed by a company; their actual human resources.  It also refers to that part of a company that manages the company’s human resources.  In today’s common usage, the term human resources is far more often used in the latter context.  The term developed in the 1960s, which was when organizations began to look into how to motivate their employees to increase productivity.  Other terms that one may hear used to describe human resources include talent management, and personnel.    Human Resource Responsibilities  The responsibilities of the human resources department or human resource specialists can vary depending on the type of organizational environment.  They are responsible for bridging the gap between the employer and employees.  However, in most instances, they are also employees working for the employer.  This can create an inherent conflict between some HR professionals and departments and the employer.  Therefore, perhaps the primary responsibility of the HR department is ensuring that they are aware of conflicts between their own goals, their employer goals, and the goals of the employees that they represent.   Human resource specialists handle all parts of the employment process.  They may create positions, place job posts, and visit job fairs or work with recruiters in order to find candidates for a job.  While human resources may be part of the interview process, they are generally not the people responsible for making hiring decisions.  Instead, they handle the bureaucracy of the hiring process, such as initially contacting job candidates, scheduling interviews, and notifying candidates if they have been selected for additional interviews or are being offered a job.  Once an employee has been hired, HR is responsible for placing the employee in the company, handling orientation for the employee, and overseeing the employee’s job satisfaction, productivity, and benefits.  The overall goal of human resources is “ensuring that the workplace is always running efficiently” (Human Resources Edu, 2019).   There are a wide range of responsibilities that a human resources professional might encounter in the course of a normal day.  This includes handling employee records; documenting and making decisions about hiring, promotions, pay, transfers, and termination; explaining human resource policies to employees; scheduling trainings for employees; handling new hire and continuing paperwork for existing employees; making sure that all employees are aware of their job duties and responsibilities; and handling employment related issues, such as harassment, workplace safety, and compliance with rules and regulations.  Obviously, with a wide range of activities covered under HR, human resource professionals might engage in a whole range of activities or specialize in particular areas.  Some areas of HR specialization are: workforce planning and employment, HR development, benefits, risk management, and labor relations.   Human Resources Management Human Resources Management (HRM) focuses on recruiting, managing, and providing direction for employees in an organization.  HRM has an influence on every aspect of an organization, from customer interaction to high-level decision making.  HRM professionals are responsible for providing employees with the necessary tools, training, coaching, advice, and oversight required to fulfill their job responsibilities.  Therefore, HRM may be responsible for organizational development, through team building, assignment of job responsibilities, and encouraging employee engagement.  In addition to interacting with individual employees, HRM is responsible for developing and implementing an organization’s mission, vision, and values.  Depending on an organization’s culture, line managers may interact significantly with HRM, because they are in daily contact with down-the-line employees.  However, there is usually a separation between HRM and management, because HRM is responsible for oversight for managers, as well as other employees.    Because HRM is responsible for determining which employees fill necessarily roles in a company, it is also the part of an organization that often interacts with third-party contractors and may be responsible for outsourcing different roles for outside vendors.  Some functions that are frequently outsourced include payroll, janitorial or maintenance functions, background checks, training, and handling temporary staffing requirements.   The role of HRM in organization has evolved in recent times.  HRM was once considered subordinate to management, which could make it difficult for HR specialists to advocate on behalf of employees.  However, HRM is no longer expected to take a subordinate position.  “HR is now expected to sit at the executive table and recommend processes, approaches, and business solutions that improve the ability of the organization’s people to effectively contribute” (Heathfield, 2019).   Human Resources Training Becoming a human resources specialist usually requires either specialized education or on-the-job experience.  Usually, human resources professional need a bachelor’s degree in human resources, business management, or a related field.  However, most larger organizations actually want HR specialists to have an advanced degree.  These include a variety of different master’s degrees in human resources.  They may be specialized or general degrees, and are usually Master of Arts in Human Resource Management or Master of Science in Human Resource Management.  Some subspecialties under the HR umbrella include organizational development, human resource management, and human resource performance.   Alternatively, HR specialists may want an advanced degree that includes, but is not focused on human resources.  The most common of these degrees is a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which may or may not be focused on human resource management.  For some organizations, an MBA will be enough for an HR professional to enter into management, but other organization will specifically want an MBA with a focus on HRM.  s If you have experience in human resources, but a non-related degree.  Another interesting approach, which may limit job opportunities, but is focused on how employees and employer interact, is Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  I/O psychologists focus on human behavior in the workplace, and may work with HRM to help improve employee satisfaction and job performance.  Generally, I/O psychologists would need a Master’s Degree in Psychology, with an emphasis on I/O to work in a HRM department, because there is not enough time for specialization in a bachelor degree program.  “I/O Psychologists are scientist-practitioners who have expertise in the design, execution, and interpretation of research in psychology and who apply their findings to help address human and organizational problems in the context of organized work” (APA, 2019).  Like HR professionals, I/O psychologists can identify training needs, coach employees, develop training programs, help optimize work-life balance, evaluate employees, and help assess and develop consumer and market strategies.  Another way to ensure adequate training for a HRM specialist is through certification.  Two organizations in the United States focus on HR certifications: the Society of Human Resource Management and the HR Certification Institute.  Both organizations offer a variety of different certification types, depending on the emphasis of the person seeking certification.  They also offered tiered certification, which can help indicate whether a professional can handle higher management functions within a company’s HR department.  Human Resources Issues There are a number of different issues that HR professional may need to be able to help resolve.  Many of these focus on potential conflicts in the workplace, but others are driven completely by outside factors.  Broadly speaking, these issues can be broken down into three categories: non-employee factors, employee wrongdoing, and employee satisfaction.  The first category, non-employee factors, refers to a HR specialist’s need to understand a variety of rules and regulations that impact employment, without regards to a particular employee’s job performance or on-the-job behavior.  HR specialists need to ensure that all employees fill out the necessary paperwork for income tax withholding, and handle medical insurance and other employee benefits.  They also need to ensure that the company is complying with applicable state and federal rules and regulations for employment, from ensuring that wage and hour laws are respected to making sure that employees are free from workplace harassment.   When an employee has done something wrong, the HR department is also responsible for handling that problem.  This could be for a wide variety of problems, and solutions may be relatively simple.  For example, an employee who is not meeting productivity goals may need to be retrained or transferred to a different job.  On the other hand, HRM would also be involved if an employee was accused of wrongdoing, such as sexual harassment of another employee.  In.